


To Be By Your Side

by bluemadridista



Category: Football RPF
Genre: Chicharito's collarbone injury, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-10
Updated: 2015-07-10
Packaged: 2018-04-08 14:02:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4307865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluemadridista/pseuds/bluemadridista
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>James is stuck in Colombia while his boyfriend is in the States suffering from a broken collarbone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	To Be By Your Side

**Author's Note:**

  * For [OchoasPoem](https://archiveofourown.org/users/OchoasPoem/gifts).



> Disclaimer: I own nothing, but the idea.
> 
> I wrote this for Ochoapoem's birthday! Hope everyone else will enjoy it as well. :')

“Football!” Salomé squealed, waving her arms in the air. She was perched on her father’s lap in front of the large television in her grandparents’ den.

James was seated in his favorite chair in his parents’ house, watching the Mexico vs. Honduras friendly on television. He loved being home with his family in Colombia, but part of him really wished he could be in the stands at the stadium in Houston where Javier was playing. He missed him so much since the end of Real Madrid’s season.

“Yes! Football,” he said, smiling at his sweet daughter, but quickly turning his gaze back to the television where the teams were taking the pitch and shaking hands.

“CHI-CHI! JAVI! PAPI!” Salomé pointed her finger at the television where the camera was zoomed in on Javier.

James grinned, and nodded. “Yeah, that’s our Javi, huh?”

“Mine Chi-Chi,” she said. James beamed. He loved the nickname she had given Javier. Chicharito and Javier wer just a little too advanced for her, so she settled for Chi-Chi and Javi. Javier, of course, didn’t mind a bit.

“Sure, your Chi-Chi.” He kissed the top of her head. “Is your Chi-Chi going to win the match?”

She nodded, full of confidence. “He will score all the doals.”

James laughed. “All the goals! Wow. I’m sure Chi-Chi would be proud to know how much faith you have in him. Wanna take a picture of us watching, and send it to him?”

Salomé looked up at her father, her face twisted in confusion. “Papi, he no have his phone.”

Chuckling, James explained to her that Javier would see the message after the match to which she replied, “After he scores all the doals?”

“Yes, honey, after he scores all the goals.” He held the camera out in front of them.

Salomé pointed at the screen. “Dat’s me!!”

“It is! And Daddy! Smile pretty! Say Chi-Chi!”

“CHI-CHI!”

James snapped the photo, and sent it to Javier via Whatsapp with the caption: _Salomé & I are watching you on TV. She predicts you will score all the goals! We miss you! Love you, Javier! <3_

Thirty minutes into the match, Salomé had her bottom lip pouted out. “No doals,” she mumbled.

He laughed. “It’s not over yet, sweetie. You never what might happen.”

About ten minutes later James watched as the unthinkable happened. Javier was tackled to the ground, hard. He scooted forward in the chair, sitting on the edge as he watched his boyfriend frantically wave for help. Salomé slid off his leg, and ran to the TV. The camera had zoomed in on Javier again. The medical staff ran to him.

“Papi! Is Chi-Chi hurt?” She touched the television screen with her tiny hand practically covering Javier’s image.

“I, uh, he’ll be fine, baby.” But he wasn’t sure. His heart started to beat faster as he watched the scene unfolding on the screen. Javier was up and walking, but there was clearly something wrong with his shoulder. He forced away the hands of everyone trying to grab him. He had to be hurting badly.

James chewed at his lip, and grabbed his phone, clutching it tightly as he watched Javier disappear down the tunnel. Salomé ran to him, and grabbed his forearms. “Papi! Papi! Where is he?”

“The doctor is just checking on him, honey. He’ll be back out, I’m sure.” He wasn’t sure, but how could he explain that to a panicked three-year-old?

Moments later, the commentators announced that Chicharito would not be coming back to the match. They didn’t have much information on his condition, but would keep everyone posted as soon as they got more information.

James couldn’t wait. He had to know He needed to know. He started to chew at his index fingernail.

“Papi…” Salomé said quietly. She rubbed his arms with her tiny thumbs.

He pulled her onto his lap, and hugged her tightly. “Chi-Chi is okay,” he whispered, kissing her head.

***

At nine-thirty, James put Salomé to bed, and walked outside. He needed the fresh air. He needed to breathe. He felt like his lungs and heart had been clenched since he watched Javier fall on the screen. He had sent at least a dozen text messages, and gotten no reply. He tried to relax, and stare up at the stars, but ended up checking his phone obsessively.

Finally, at almost ten, his phone rang. Javier’s face showed up on the screen, and he answered the call immediately. “Javi! Are you okay? What’s going on?”

“I’m sorry. I was with medical. Now I’m at the hospital. I saw your messages, but I couldn’t reply.”

“The hospital! What’s wrong? What happened exactly? It didn’t look good. I was so worried.”

“I know you were. It’s my collarbone. It’s broken. I have to get surgery.”

“Surgery?!”

“It’s just a broken bone though. It’s nothing.”

“It’s something! It’s surgery, Javi. I’m flying out there.”

“No, you don’t have to do that. Really, James. It’s not a big deal.”

“You don’t want me there?”

“No, that’s not it. I would actually love for you to be here. I hate hospitals.” He whispered the latter.

“I’ll take the next flight. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“James, you’re on vacation… I don’t want to take away your time with your family, with Mae. How is she, by the way? Is she disappointed in me for not scoring all the goals?”

“Babe, she’s three… She adores you. She’s not disappointed. She fell asleep asking if Chi-Chi was okay. That’s all she cares about.”

“Did she really say that?” James could hear the smile in his voice.

“She did. She kept asking to call you too.”

“I wish she was still awake. I would love to hear her sweet little voice. I miss her.”

“She misses you too, really. I miss you too, and I’m worried about you, Javi.”

“I’ll be okay.”

“It’s surgery though…”

“Will Mae be okay without you?”

“She’ll be with my parents. She’ll be fine.”

“My surgery is in the morning. When do you think you’ll be here?”

“I don’t know. I’ll have to find a flight out.” James turned on the speakerphone, so he could her Javier, and search for a flight at the same time. “I’m looking now.”

“Do you have me on speaker?” he whispered.

“Yes. You don’t have to whisper. I’m outside alone.”

“Oh, I didn’t know if you were with Mae.”

“No, no. I needed some air.”

“Did I worry you too much?”

“Yes…” He utilized Google to search for flights from his hometown to Houston, where Javier’s Mexican national team had played Honduras.

“I’m sorry.”

“Well, it’s not like you broke your collarbone on purpose to make me worry… Did you?”

“I did. Beckeles and I had a plan the whole time.”

“I wanted to kill that guy,” James growled.

“Oh! That doesn’t sound like my sweet boyfriend.”

“I wasn’t feeling very sweet while I was watching that on replay for the rest of the match. It looked just horrible. He should have been booked!”

Javier chuckled. “I’m kind of scared what you might do if you come here, and have a run in with him.”

“He should be scared.”

He laughed again. “I bet you look like a ferocious little puppy right now.”

“You’re lucky I love you, or I might be offended by that.”

“You shouldn’t be, because I love you too.”

“I found a red eye flight that leaves at eleven.”

“Eleven? When will you be here?”

“Well, there’s a three-hour layover in Panama, so the flight is nine hours.”

“Hmm… My operation is at six. I don’t know how long it will take.”

James booked the flight, and turned the speakerphone off. “I just booked the flight. I’ll be there waiting for you when you come out of surgery.”

***

When James arrived at the hospital, his stomach was in knots. What if the doctors wouldn’t let him in to see Javier? What if they threw him out of the hospital before Javi was even out of the operating room?

He approached the front desk at the hospital slowly, and asked the nurse behind it where he could find Javier’s room. After a lot of mouse clicks, and typing, the nurse informed him that arrangements had been made for him to wait in the room where Javier would be taken after he spent a little time in the initial recovery room. She handed him a map of the hospital, and showed him where to go. He grinned, and thanked the nurse so many times that she had to sternly tell him to stop thanking her. He apologized, blushing, and backed away from the desk.

He used the map she had given him to find the correct floor, and then room 1406. He smiled at the fourteen, thinking that the number would make Javier happy, or at least more comfortable. It made him feel better as he settled into one of the arm chairs near the only window in the room. If Javier went into surgery at six, as he said he would the night before, he had been there three hours already. He had no idea how long the surgery took, or how long he would need to spend in the initial recovery room. He could only hope that he would see him soon.

He settled back in the chair, and pulled out his phone. His parents had sent him a message from Salomé. She was not happy about being left behind, and missed him. He replied to the message, and then spent some time in Javier’s tag on Tumblr. The fans always seemed to pick the best photos of him to obsess over. Seeing his best looks and greatest moments made James a little happier and less nervous as he waited.

Another hour passed before the door opened again. A man wearing light green scrubs walked into the room. He seemed shocked to see James sitting there as he surveyed the room. “Who are you?” he asked.

James shoved his phone into his pocket, and stood up. He suddenly felt threatened. “I, um, I’m supposed to be here.”

“You don’t look sick.”

“No, I’m, uh, waiting for someone to get out of surgery. The nurse downstairs told me to come here. Am I in the wrong room?”

“Who are you waiting for?”

“Javier Hernandez.”

“Oh… we’re bringing him in here in just a minute. I came to make sure that the room was clear enough for his bed.”

“Okay. Am I okay over here? Am I out of your way?”

“You’re fine. Sorry for the interrogation.”

He nodded, and offered a small smile. The man nodded awkwardly, and left the room. James stared at the door, waiting for it to open again.

Five minutes later, it clattered open, and a team of men and women rolled in a hospital bed. James jumped up from his chair, but stayed near the window, out of the way. When Javier came into view, he gasped quietly. Javier looked so pale, and his eyes were barely open. He had never seen someone fresh out of surgery. He hoped they all looked this way.

The nurses pushed Javier’s bed into place, and then all but one left through open door. James heard it close behind them. The remaining nurse spoke softly to Javier. James hung back a little even though he wanted to run to his side.

Javier nodded at something she said, and the nurse turned her attention toward James. “He said you’d be staying with him here? He doesn’t have any friends or family in the area, is that right?”

“Uh, well, yes.”

“That’s fine, but he will probably need to get some rest now. He’s still feeling the effects of the anesthesia. You can talk to him for a little, but then let him rest.”

“I will.” James walked slowly toward Javier’s bed. The nurse left the room. “Javi…” he whispered, staring down at him.

Javier’s eyes fluttered a little, and then he finally focused on his face. “Hey… James… You came.”

“Of course, I did. I told you I would. I was so worried.” He brushed his fingers over his forehead, and then ran them into his hair.

“I’m okay… I’m tired though.”

He nodded, and caressed his head. “They said you would be,” he whispered.

Javier smiled, and his eyes fell closed for a moment. James was afraid that he’d fallen asleep, but then his eyes opened again. “Will you stay here with me?”

“I’ll stay right by your side, I promise.” He quickly pulled up a chair, and sat beside the bed.

Javier lifted his left hand off the bed, silently asking him to hold him. He removed his hand from Javier’s hair, and laced their fingers together. Javier smiled contently.

“You can sleep. I’ll be right here.”

“Kiss me first…” he mumbled, his eyes falling closed again. James wondered if he even knew what he was saying, or what was happening. He seemed so out of it.

James stood, and leaned in to press a kiss to his lips. He kissed him softly a few times, whispered “I love you,” and pulled away.

“I love you too,” Javier whispered. “Thank you for coming all this way.”

“It was nothing. I’d travel much farther to be by your side.”

Javier smiled, and his eyes fluttered closed again. James stared at him, waiting for them to open again, but he was truly asleep this time. James leaned his head over on the bed, and tightened his grip on Javier’s hand. He had only slept about an hour or two on the flight. His nerves had gotten the better of him. Holding Javi’s hand, listening to him breathe, he finally felt at ease enough to fall asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave some comments and kudos if you enjoy the fic. It makes me so happy to see them! xx


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